Nebraska Forest Service Wood Waste Supply & Utilization Assessment
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Nebraska Forest Service Wood Waste Supply & Utilization Assessment Prepared for: Richard Woollen Biomass Project Coordinator Nebraska Forest Service Lincoln, Nebraska Prepared by: Rich Lane Camas Creek Enterprises, Inc. Missoula Montana December 2008 1.0 Executive Summary Woody biomass utilization offers opportunities to produce renewable energy, develop bio-based businesses, generate energy cost savings and create new markets for low value and waste wood resources. A state-wide examination of wood waste supply sources and potential bio-energy opportunities is an important first step necessary to increase utilization of woody biomass as a feedstock for bio-energy production. The Nebraska Forest Service received a USDA Forest Service “Wood-to-Energy Jumpstart” federal grant to conduct a wood waste supply assessment for the entire state and to perform a geo-spatial analysis that identified potentially optimal wood- to-energy market locations. In Nebraska, a state often characterized by its extensive food-crop production and prolific grasslands rather than by its forests, all three major sources of existing and potentially-available wood waste supply were studied, which included: • Forest biomass generated as a result of commercial timber harvest, forest fuels reduction and range improvement activities. • Residual by-products from primary and secondary wood products manufacturing operations. • Sources of Urban Wood Waste, which includes tree debris separated from the municipal solid waste stream, public & private tree care service providers and utility line construction & maintenance activities. Wood-Waste Supply – 766 wood waste supply locations were identified using information provided by the Nebraska Forest Service and on-line search methods. All listings were categorized by Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes. A survey form was mailed to all wood waste supply locations. Responses to the survey provided sufficient information to characterize wood waste supply types and helped to quantify wood waste amounts by category and location. The survey data was augmented with information obtained from the USDA-Forest Service and the Nebraska Forest Service to determine the estimated amounts of forest and primary wood processing wood waste. There is an estimated 172,395 tons of all types of wood waste currently produced annually in Nebraska. An additional 98,128 tons of forest biomass wood waste could become available for wood-to-energy utilization. If this additional forest biomass was processed, the total supply of wood waste in Nebraska would increase to 270,523 tons. Wood-Waste Utilization - Existing institutions, organizations and businesses that could potentially utilize wood waste as a feedstock to produce energy were identified in order to define the potential demand for woody biomass in Nebraska. A subset of the 10,000 plus licensed boilers on the Nebraska Department of Labor list was selected in consultation with the Nebraska Forest Service. The wood-waste utilization analysis was focused upon the 422 boilers located in public institutions (hospitals, jails, schools & colleges) across the state of Nebraska that are 40 years of age or older. The optimal locations for replacement of aged boilers, based on the proximity of wood waste supply to potential demand sites, exist in eastern Nebraska, particularly in the Omaha and Lincoln metropolitan areas. Other potential locations for wood energy production exist in rural counties. This wood waste supply and demand infrastructure assessment serves an important function in the development of wood-to-energy opportunities. Additional in-depth feasibility analyses are necessary to implement site-specific investments. 2 Table of Contents 1.0 Executive Summary .......................................................................... 2 2.0 Introduction & Objectives .............................................................. 5 3.0 Wood Waste Supply Findings ........................................................ 8 3.1 Supply Assessment Methodology....................................................................8 3.2 Data Collection – Supplier Survey .................................................................8 3.3 Data Collection – Supplemental Sources .......................................................9 3.4 Supply Characteristics...................................................................................10 3.4.1 Forest Biomass ......................................................................................10 3.4.2 Wood Manufacturing By-Products .....................................................13 3.4.3 Urban Wood Waste ..............................................................................14 3.5 Supply Summary ............................................................................................16 3.6 County-Level Supply Ranking .....................................................................17 3.7 Supply Suitability Assessment ......................................................................17 3.8 Supply Diversity Analysis..............................................................................19 4.0 Wood Waste Utilization Findings ............................................... 20 4.1 Existing Wood Waste Utilization ..................................................................20 4.2 Boiler Conversion Analysis ...........................................................................21 4.3 Proximity Analysis .........................................................................................22 4.3.1 Optimal Locations for Boiler Conversion – Supply Amounts ..........22 4.3.2 Optimal Locations for Boiler Conversion – Supply Sources ............22 4.3.3 Metropolitan Area Analysis .................................................................22 4.3.4 Rural Area Analysis ..............................................................................23 4.4 Project Level Analysis ...................................................................................23 5.0 Conclusions ........................................................................................ 24 References ................................................................................................. 26 Appendices Appendix 1 – Survey Forms and Cover Letters provided under separate cover Appendix 2 – Supply Master List: provided in digital format 3 List of Tables Table 1: Currently Processed Wood Waste Supply by Major Category .......16 Table 2: Currently Processed Wood Waste Supply by Group .......................16 Table 3: Processed & Unprocessed Wood Waste by Major Category ...........17 Table 4: Selected Boiler Age ..............................................................................21 List of Figures Figure 1: Commercial Timber Harvest Levels ................................................27 Figure 2: Forest Residue Amounts ....................................................................28 Figure 3: Locations of Logging & Fuels Reduction Contractors ...................29 Figure 4: Locations of Range Improvement Contractors ...............................30 Figure 5: Range Improvement Levels ...............................................................31 Figure 6: Locations of Primary Processors ......................................................32 Figure 7: Locations of Secondary Processors ...................................................33 Figure 8: Locations of Municipal Waste Disposal Facilities ...........................34 Figure 9: Locations of Tree Care Service Firms ..............................................35 Figure 10: Nebraska Cities + 1,000 population .................................................36 Figure 11: Locations of Utility Lines ..................................................................37 Figure 12: County-level Wood Waste Supply ...................................................38 Figure 13: Wood Waste Supply Amounts by County ......................................39 Figure 14: County-level Wood Waste Supply Diversity ...................................40 Figure 15: Locations of Wood Waste Boilers ....................................................41 Figure 16: Locations of Selected Public Institution Boilers + 40 years ...........42 Figure 17: Selected Public Institution Boilers + 40 years by County ..............43 Figure 18: Optimal Locations – Supply Amounts ............................................44 Figure 19: Supplier Count by County ................................................................45 Figure 20: Optimal Locations – Supplier Count ...............................................46 Figure 21: Lincoln Metro Area ...........................................................................47 Figure 22: Omaha Metro Area ...........................................................................48 4 2.0 Introduction & Objectives Increased utilization of wood waste can help decrease our Nation’s dependence on foreign energy purchases, generate energy cost-savings, enhance the efficiencies of forest and range management efforts, reduce the amount of wood waste disposed of in landfills and stimulate local economic development. In 2006 a Rand Corporation analysis found that 25% of the Nation’s energy could be competitively produced from ethanol, wind power and other forms of renewable energy such as woody biomass. A national alliance, known as the Energy Future Coalition, has subsequently advanced the “25 x 25 Initiative”. (www.25x25.org) The Coalition’s